|
Meat-free
zone declared in India
Mon, 29
September 2014 portalkbr.com
The Indian town
of Palitana has been declared a meat-free zone. The local government has put a
complete ban on the sale of meat, eggs and the slaughter of animals within the
town’s limits. The move comes after pressure from followers of the Jain
religion—who have a number of holy temples in the town.
Jainism is one of the oldest religions in the world. It preaches a path of
non-violence towards all living beings. As Jain monk Virat Sagar Maharaj
explains.
“Whoever is present in this world, animals, humans or very small creatures, they
have all being given the right to live by the God. So who we are to take away
that right from them? This has been written in holy book of every religion and
particularly in Jainism.”
Jainism has around 5 million followers in India. The mountainous town Palitana
in the state of Gujaratis home to their holiest sites and they don’t want any
killing taking place here.
Recently 200 Jain monks launched a hunger strike. They threatened to fast unto
death until the town was declared a vegetarian zone. Jain believer Sadhar Sagar
explains, “Meat is now easily available in this city it’s against the teaching
of our religion. We have always wanted a complete ban on non-veg food in this
holy site.”
And it appears as if they have won. The state is ruled by the Hindu nationalist
BJP party—that is also in power nationally.
On the 14th of August the Gujarat local government declared the city a
‘vegetarian zone’. The local government has put a complete ban on the sale of
meat, eggs and the slaughter of animals within the town’s limits.
And now fishermen like Nishit Mehru have had to stop fishing. “We have been
stopped from selling anything in Palitana. They should not have taken this one
sided decision. How will we survive if we are not allowed to sell fishes.The
government should not make decisions under pressure.”
On behalf of the fisherman local Hindu resident Valjibhai Mithapura took the
issue to the Gujarat high court. The court has called on the state government
to explain the ban and says it will then make a decision about whether the
regulation is legal. There around 65,000 people living in Palitana and 25
percent of them are Muslims.
Syed Jehangir Miyan is a local Muslim religious scholar. “There are so many
people living in this city and majority of them are non-vegetarian. Stopping
them from eating non-vegetarian diet is a violation of their rights. We have
been living in this city for decades. It is wrong to put a ban on the whole city
now.”
Comment:
Great news. Compassion for animals and going vegan is increasingly becoming a
great social movement and lifestyle of many.
November 28, 2015
B.C. companies thrive as meatless
eating goes mainstream
Windsor Castle Hosts Vegan Lunch
for Interfaith Eco-Conference; Father F. Mann; FAO; World Meat-Free Week
Every cow just wants
to be happy. Every chicken just wants to be free. Every bear, dog, or mouse
experiences sorrow and feels pain as intensely as any of us humans do.
Compassion toward all beings, including our fellow animals, is a moral
obligation and the direction toward which any enlightened society must aspire.
|